The left ventricle of the heart pumps nutrient-rich blood from the heart to the body. When it fails, cardiac output is decreased and the lungs become congested. Symptoms include weakness, decreased urine output during the day, dizziness, rapid breathing, cough, wheezing and difficulty breathing. Several conditions can cause left-sided heart failure.
Heart Attack
A heart attack blocks blood from traveling through a coronary artery to feed to heart muscle, causing a portion of it to die. This loss of heart muscle damages the heart's pumping ability, often leading to chronic left-sided heart failure.
Viral Cardiomyopathy
A virus can harm the heart muscle. Known as viral myocarditis, it can cause permanent damage to the musculature of the heart, a condition known as viral cardiomyopathy. Left ventricular heart failure may result from viral cardiomyopathy. While potentially damaging at any age, viral infections are a common cause of left-sided heart failure in children, explains Drugs.com.
Coronary Artery Disease
Coronary artery disease, commonly known as heart disease, is a condition in which the coronary arteries become narrowed with plaque deposits. This prevents adequate flow of nutrient-rich blood to the heart muscle, impairing its ability to pump efficiently. Coronary artery disease is a common cause of heart failure, according to MayoClinic.com.
Hypertension
High blood pressure in the arteries forces the heart to pump harder to force blood through the arteries. The heart muscle becomes enlarged to facilitate this strenuous pumping but it eventually suffers as the muscle becomes weak or so stiff that it cannot pump properly. Untreated or inadequately-treated high blood pressure, or hypertension, is a common cause of left-sided heart failure.
Drugs
Chronic alcoholism and abuse of illicit drugs such as cocaine can damage the heart's ability to pump effectively. Some medications used to treat cancer can destroy healthy cells as well as tumor cells, causing permanent heart damage. Occasionally, other prescription drugs are found to cause heart failure in some individuals.
Heart Valve Problems
A defective or damaged heart valve can cause left-sided heart failure as the heart muscle struggles to pump blood through the improperly-functioning valve. Defective heart valves are a common cause of left-sided heart failure in children, relates Drugs.com.
References
- "Medical-Surgical Nursing"; Donna Ignatavicius, M.S., R.N. and Linda Workman, Ph.D., R.N.; 2002
- Drugs.com: Left-Sided Heart Failure
- Mayo Clinic: Heart Failure
